An Ado about the Circus of Smiles
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: [02 AU] Welcome to the Circus of Smiles, where we'll wipe off the frowns on your faces and send you off with happy smiles and in stitches and tears.


**A/N:** Written for

Becoming the Tamer King Challenge, Sheer Valley Task  
Diversity Writing Challenge, c60 – write an AU  
Ultimate Sleuth Challenge, Ch 2 – red quest 1 – write about a group of friends

There'll be a few more fics in the same verse…eventually. :D Keep an eye on my series page if you're interested. They'll all have "Circus of Smiles" in the title, in any case.

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 **An Ado about the Circus of Smiles**

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Welcome to the Circus of Smiles, where we'll wipe off the frowns on your faces and send you off with happy smiles and in stitches and tears.

(But don't worry. First Aiders are on standby should you require medical attention).

We're stopping for a week in this here Primary Village – for the youngsters, of course. Day performances will all be kid friendly and family friendly, so people of all ages are welcome. After dark is when the monsters come out though, so kiddies, be sure to be tucked away in bed – or at least lock your windows and doors! Or you may find a mass of worms wriggling their way up your toes…

We jest, of a sort. Our resident insect-master has a way with worms as well, after all. And they are an oh so appropriate punishment for little tykes who don't listen to the adults. But if you behave, we'll have an extra special treat on the final day for you little ones!

But first, the standard stuff. We're open all day and all night to humble guests, but for the crowds, it's a midday and midnight show. Feel free to join us afterwards for a bite as well, though be careful of our animal friends. They tend to get quite hungry after a show. Be careful of our clown and tightrope walker as well. If they're fighting over the last bun in the basket, make sure you're a safe distance away for when a fight breaks out.

The midday show's kid friendly and family friendly. Starting things off is our illustrious clown with a few silly tricks that has the babies giggling, and then there's an explosion of skill. The horse-master and the lion-tamer come in with their pets, individually and then together, and then the tightrope walker leaps from the high pole to join them. Then she unleashes her birds and the stage is theirs until the insect-charmer brings out his friends in a flurry of activity. And those little critters are clever: nothing much to look at up close but able to paint pictures and even moving comics with their collective form. Like diagrams in the sand, they'll have you in stitches as the rest of the cast cast out their voices, and then it's a comedy act by the small strong man, and finally the clown in a bright finale.

We won't mind if you have to leave halfway because your bladder's about to burst from laughter, or something similar. We have temporary bathrooms prepared – though they're far from five star as far as their structures go. Just remember to not scrub off your entrance stamp – or, on second thought, please do: paying for re-entry means more money into pocket for us after all.

After the show will be lunch and an empty stage, and then dismantling the tent which is an art of its own and an extra show for an extra charge. Of course, it's a slight more dangerous than staying in your seats before the encore but we have a bird's eye view on the proceedings – quite literally. Remember our lively tightrope walker? She swings down to rescue the helpless masses as well, but somewhat less often. Only because she's recently broken a leg and needs to heal it up before she can strain it twice a day in normal performance as well as her usual rescue missions. Not that it's anything to worry about. Injuries happen quite frequently in normal lives and we're very careful with safety precautions. Funnily enough, she didn't break her leg with anything to do with the circus, but when she tried to scale Infinity Mountain after we'd camped out at the base of it.

But we're digressing now, are we not? We're up to lunchtime and the food is simple and often with a touch of nature in it. We occasionally get fancy presents: guests who come to watch us in our downtimes or to practice with their well-wishing patties and pies and Chinese buns – though we recommend against the Chinese buns if you are so inclined, because our clown and our tightrope walker will squabble over each and every one and the poor patient insect-master will be lucky to get one at all. And don't try handing them to him directly because he'll go and offer it to all the others and never get the chance to get one in return. We don't suggest you try and force-feed him either. He has impressive flexibility and skill in the martial arts –

And there's a hint of what extras can be found in the midnight session. But it's more than just fancy moves. It's bright. It's flashy. And it's dangerous.

Yes, we take our safety very seriously. We also take the safety of our fans seriously so we hope that those who watch us are old enough to not try such tricks at home. _Very_ dangerous, for the untrained. But our workers here are very well trained, and so is the magic they summon.

Not the normal birds and normal insects and normal lions and horses or even the water show that we can only run in certain locales because we don't quite have the resources to support a large tank for the dolphins as well. So I'm afraid Primary Village will not get to see our great water spectacles for lack of an Oceanside to host it on. But come to Oil Platform where our next performance will be and see it there. See the best water show of the year because the dolphins are ever so fond of that place, for some odd reason.

But the night shows aren't with normal monsters from this world. They're with strange otherworldly creatures, and it's not a comic show but a breathtaking deadly dance and spar. One on one, two on two, all on all, monsters against the humans or a mix of it all. And the monsters grow as well: adorable as first, god-like by the end and it's a breathtaking performance and the smiles are softer, tenderer and more heart-pulling: the almost inexplicable bonds that allow a dangerous endeavour like that to be possible night after night…

And it only works because they know each other so well, and themselves as well. And that is the knowledge that few see in these night performances – but all those that do understand, because the Circus of Smiles does not have every monster tamer in its cast, and not every monster tamer is as in sync with their partners as the cast of the Circus of Smiles.


End file.
